police say they're concerned because of recent developments in similar investigations. yesterday fairfax county police announced the body they found in springfield was a 15-year-old girl from maryland. one top official is out, another is in hot water. >> 24 hours after kellyanne conway said michael flynn had the full confidence of the president, flynn got pushed out. >> the office of government ethics is asking the white house to take disciplinary action against conway for promoting ivanka trump's band on national tv. >> reporter: that just came out late today. that ethics office thinks the white house need to take ot look. it was conway last night who said that flynn

confidence of president trump. and then hours later flynn was out. president trump ignoring questions today as his spokesman explains what led to the resignation of national security advisor mike flynn. >> we got to a point not based on legal issue, but based on a trust issue where the level of trust between president trump and general flynn had eroded to the point where they felt he had to make a change. >> reporter: white house lawyers said flynn did nothing illegal, but the president asked him to resign after he misled the vice president and others about discussing sanctions with russia's ambassador. >> you cannot have a national security advisor misleading the vice president and others. >> reporter: former acting attorney general sally yates first alerted the white house three weeks ago, warning that flynn was vulnerable to black.

why did it take weeks to deal with flynn? >> i think the first question should be where was the department of justice in this. >> reporter: democrats want answers on whether flynn acted alone. >> what did the president know and when did he know it? >> reporter: eaven some republicans want answers. >> the whole thing as it transpired. >> i'd like to know did he just do this as a rogue general flynn or did it come from somebody else in the white house. >> reporter: republican leaders are resisting calls for an independent investigation. an independent investigation, but it looks like some of the committees here on capitol hill may be taking another look. here's where we stand tonight. there is an acting national security advisor in place, keith kellogg. he's one of three believed to be on the short list to get that job once the white house gets over this hump to explain what pp

flynn. in a lot of ways, general flynn's resignation races more questions than answers about what the administration knew and when they knew it. let's start with the when. nbc news has confirmed that the trump administration was warned that flynn may have made misleading statements about his communications with russia. sally yates was the person who gave that warning. yates also voiced concerns that flynn may be vulnerable to blackmail by russia. she was later fired by the administration for refusing to defend trump's travel ban. there are also questions about whether anyone else on trump's team was in on flynn's communications and if candidate trump authorized those discussions. remember, the day after the obama administration slapped sanctions against russia, the president tweeted praise for vladimir putin because he did not retaliate. finally, will congress make a move? democrats and some republicans are calling for additional inveat

president's ties to russia. many democrats say the american people deserve to know whether their president can be influenced. a federal judge in virginia dealt another blow to the president's travel ban. the judge ruled the administration will not be able to take action against green card holders in virginia or those living here on a student or spousal visa. this is different from the ninth circuit court's temporary restraining order in that it more closely examined the merits of the ban. the judge says she thinks the case would succeed at trial. she says the ban amounts to an unconstitutional religious test and violates the first amendment. we're going to follow this story for you throughout the hour. just a little bit later we'll take you live to the white house to go in depth with hallie jackson about what's next. now to a literal crash and grab. police say a group of thieves stole an

early this morning in laurel. police are trying to figure out if it could be connected to an attempted theft in prince george's county. pat collins is live with more details about this. >> reporter: an run dal county police, prince george's county police, four police departments working on two bizarre atm robberies in the dark hours of the morning. 4:00 a.m., this exxon station in laurel, three men in this white work van ram it through a plate glass window, knock an atm off its moorings, pick up the cash machine, toss it in the van and then they take off. about an hour after that, at this bp station, three men in a white work

atm here. they wrap a chain around it, attach it to the van outside and pull and pull, but they can't seem to get it to budge. now some cops come along. they see what's going on. the suspects, they see the cops. they take off. there's a chase. they say it was like a scene out of a movie. the suspects throwing atm parts out of the van as they sped away. i'm just getting started with this story. more coming up at 5:00. another powerful storm is causing widespread heartache. this time it's in southeast texas where a series of tornados touched down this morning near houston. several homes sustained significant damage. trees and power lines were ripped down. thousands are without power right now. one woman who took cover in a bathroom when the storm hit

something like that ever again. back here at home, it's been a somewhat dreary valentine's day so far. but what's in store for tonight? let's go to storm team 4 chief meteorologist doug kammerer. >> now we're starting to see some sunshine outside from d.c. to the north. our northern zones have seen some sun over the last hour or so. hagerstown actually going up to 49 degrees. most areas in the low to mid 40s. we even saw some snow showers across our region. they were very light around parts of northern virginia. southern maryland saw some shower activity as well in the liquid form. we're going to stay fairly cloudy from d.c. southward overnight. showers south tomorrow. another system moving in. cold on thursday and then back into the 60s for an extended period

schools, churches, all targeted with hate crimes. it's been happening a lot more. what's going on? we're there as officials ask tough questions. a white house tradition is ready to resume. what's about to start happening again on pennsylvania avenue. and we now know what's going to happen to michelle obama's garden. if you're not careful, valentine's day can really set you back, from last-minute gifts to potenti scams. al

chopper 4 was over the scene of a frightening accident in frederick county. a tractor trailer crashed near an over pass along route 15 this morning. the impact caused the cab of the truck to separate from the frame. the cab went over the guardrail and landed on the street below, west 7th street. the driver was seriously injured and taken to the hospital. investigators are now trying to figure out what caused the crash. it's happening at churches and schools. in the past few months there's been a spike in hate inspired crimes in montgomery county. >> reporter: it is a shocking and frightening statistic presented today to the montgomery county council. last year in november and december there were 94 hate-based incidents of crime in schools and throughout the

that's a 42% increase from the year before. today i asked montgomery county police chief tom manger what he thinks the reason for the increase is. >> right after the election, there was, i think, a real sense among some folks that there were winners and losers. that was expressed in terms of people acting out, you know, spray painting hateful messages around and saying hateful things to other people. >> reporter: ahead at 5:00, what the county council is trying to do to reduce the number of hate-based incidents in montgomery county. stepping up the search. we're following that breaking news. an urgent search for a missing teenage girl. >> could her case be connected to another? david culver just spoke to

police are searching for 17-year-old girl who's been missing for nearly a month. >> investigators are worried because in recent weeks there have been similar cases in fairfax county including one that just turned into a murder investigation. >> reporter: that murder investigation you

actually how we began our day. we were focused on that story. it wasn't until fairfax county police reached out to us saying they had a late afternoon preferenpress conference. the reason for that urgent message, a missing 17-year-old. this is what police have put out on social media as well as right here on nbc 4. police using this opportunity to stress that they are desperately trying to find 17-year-old venus iraheta from alexandria. she left her home january 15th. due to recent developments, they believe she might be in danger. you may ask yourself, what are those developments? that takes us back to the homicide investigation we began our day on. over the weekend police found the body of 15-year-old alex reyes. she went hissing from her home in montgomery county, gaithersburg, back in december. police explain the possible connection between the two.

acquainted with that girl? the relationship is under investigation. we can't say for sure how she knew her, but we do know they are acquaintances. >> who's behind these disappearances and now this homicide investigation? they won't say for sure, but what we're hearing from family members of some of those involves is that this has to do with ms-13. i also want you to hear from the mother of alexandra reyes. i sat down with her a little bit earlier today. she's incredibly emotional, heart broken over the lost of her daughter. you're going to hear from her ahead in the next hour. first lady melania trump says the white house is a remarkable historic site that should be shared. that's why public tours will resume on march 7th. mrs. trump made the announcement in a written statement today. white house tourism was

transition to the administration. you can request a tour three months in advance but no less than 21 days out. during your white house tour, you may get a chance to see michelle obama's produce garden. the white house says mrs. trump wants the garden to stay. the former first lady planted that garden in 2009 as part of her let's move initiative that promotes healthy eating. it produces hundreds of pounds of fruit and eventual gveggies . >> i could probably go out there today and start planting my spring vegetables. >> you might be able to do it because we haven't seen many freezing days in they

here. >> don't say it with such a forlorn look. >> yes, i want snow. i am upset we haven't had a lot. look at this outside right now. we've seen the cloud cover all day. now seeing some sunshine. 45 degrees under partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies. 47 at 7:00, dropping to about 41 by 11:00. it's not nearly as cold as last night. dulles down to 22 last night. that was a cold night. 48 in fredericksburg right now. martinsburg right now up to 50 with that sunshine across the region. we are starting to see temperatures warm. we saw some rain or snow a little bit earlier, sprinkles and flurries. that system is pushing on out. you can see it coming through earlier and moving down to the south. look at this system back

west. snow back towards western portions of texas. the other day it was 90 degrees here, now they're seeing snow. saw some severe weather around houston, tornados that came on the ground. some reports of tornado damage around the houston area. this storm will move along this path and come right up towards our region. most of us will stay dry from this. i really do think most of us will stay on the dry side. but down to the south, better chance of rain. look at the rain down towards southern maryland, parts of the delmarva. i think this might be a little bit farther to the north. i still think d.c. northward stays all dry tomorrow. we'll see the cloud cover and then we'll see the sun during the afternoon. that will allow temperatures to get back into the 50s. it does turn rather breezy, though. high temperature around 50 degrees. clouds early, then clearing and the breezes gi

it won't be nearly as windy as what we saw yesterday across our region. 38 degrees at 7:00 a.m. 46 by noon. up to 50 degrees by 4:00 p.m. looking pretty good at school today. wear the coats, kids. i mean, come on. 39 on thursday. the coat is definitely necessary. thursday will be one cold day. 39, rather breezy, windchills in the 20s. 47 on friday. then put the coats away for a while. look at this. one, two, three, four, five. five in the 60s including president's day. that is one great president's day weekend. we normally get a lot of storms. not this time. >> haven't seen a february like this. news for your health now. what the shape of your body says about the kind of health

before we know it, it will be cherry blossom time. some of the work happening right now

in news for your health, you know that being over weight can lead to chronic diseases. now it seems where your carry yo

researchers with massachusetts general hospital, looking at genes, found people who are apple shaped tend to be the ones who develop diabetes. apple shapes are those who carry their extra weight in their belly rather than the hips or thighs. since belly fat is linked to heart disease and type ii diabet diabetes, that makes sense. i've been wondering how this warm weather is going to affect the blossoms. it's still winter but with another warmup on the way it's going to feel like spring is in the air. that probably has your ready a well for the cherry blossoms. the blooming period is directly related to weather, which makes it tough to predict peak bloom dates more than ten days out. >> peak day is usually last

of march, first week of april. the way the winter is going so far, i think we'll probably be closer to that last week of march. >> if you're a cherry blossom fa fan, just open our nbc washington app and search cherry blossoms. this week random acts of kindness week, is this week. we'd like to hear how you are paying it forward. whatever you choose to do, we want to hear about it. you can tweet us your random acts of kindness using the hashtag pay it 4-ward. this morning news4 dropped off coffee and donuts at engine 20 here in the district.

anything. we just saw that one tweet from the woman who paid for the stamps for the woman who was ahead of her in line at the post office. something really simple like that. >> just do something nice for someone. a shakeup at the white house, an early exit for an embattled member of president trump's cabinet. we're going to go in depth with hallie jackson about what happens next. valentine's day can be exnsive if you're not capere

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you're watching news4 at 4:00. a whirlwind of a first few weeks, and now president trump has another appointment to make. joseph clancy is retiring for the second time. more than two years ago clancy came out of retirement to take over the agency after a series of scandals. more trouble for ivanka trump's clothing line. the fashion brand will not go on sale next month in japan as expected. an international licensing agreement is taking longer than expected to finalize. sears, kmart and nordstrom all cut back on trump-related clothing. >> and h

that we're moving on. there are three very strong candidates that will be considered for a permanent position here. >> do you hear the silence? this is the sound of house republicans conducting no oversight of president trump. zero. >> two very different takes on the resignation of general michael flynn amid growing questions about his contacts with russia. the president's advisor ready to move on, house democrats looking for an investigation. >> nbc white house correspondent hallie jackson joins us now. is the administration giving you a good indication of how much president trump knew about these phone calls? >> listen, we are getting a better sense of the timeline today. i think there are still a lot of questions yet to be answered. that's something we've been talking about all day long as well. we did find out from press

president knew what he knew. it turns out it was the end of january. nearly three weeks ago the president was informed by his white house counsel and a small group of advisors about this phone call that mike flynn in late december did have a conversation with the russian ambassador and may have discussed election-related sanctions. according to the white house, there is a very quick legal review to see if anything illegal happened. it was determined, the white house says, no laws were broken. then it became a trust question. so that is what the last couple of weeks have been, according to the white house, for the president. can he trust his national security advisor? ultimately after what i think you could characterize as a tumultuous day yesterday, michael phone liflynn submitted resignation. multiple sources are saying the president asked for that resignation last night. submitted his resignation.

now the hunt is on for a new national security advisor. why did it take so long for these decisions to be made, and what ultimately triggered president trump to determine late last night that he did no longer trust mike flynn in that role? lots to talk about. we're going to have it all tonight with my colleagues on nbc nightly news. >> is it clear if anyone else on trump's team discussed those phone calls with flynn? >> one more time on that. >> is it clear if anyone else on the trump team talked about the phone calls with flynn? >> reporter: yes. i think it is clear. you heard sean spicer say publicly that he himself spoke with mike flynn about this conversation. i will tell you that another source inside the west wing tells me chief of staff reince priebus also had a conversation in which flynn was not consistent or accurate with

discussion of sanctions. it's not just vice president pence. there were others inside the administration at a fairly high level who had concerns. >> obviously the democrats chomping at the bit to get a full investigation started. thank you so much. our coverage of michael flynn's resignation is just getting started. you could watch more reporting on nbc nightly news with lester lot at 7:00. space heaters are small, cost efficient and can keep your family wrong. so many of us are using them in the wrong way and in an instant tragedy can strike. >> how fast things can go wrong and what you can do to protect yourself. >> reporter: it's happened in an instant. >> oh my gosh, i think that house is on fire! >> reporter: deadly flames, raging infernos. >> when i got out the flames re

>> reporter: in all these cases, space heaters are to blame. in fact, according to the national fire protection association, space heaters are a leading cause of house fires. to show you how to avoid that, we're here with jamie novak, a fire investigator. how do we stay safe? >> people need to realize these are small but they draw a lot of electricity. you plug it directly into the wall. >> reporter: that's a big tip. plug the heater directly into the wall. some people use cheap extension cords to move the heater closer but many extension cords can't handle that amount of electricity. watch when he does it. >> there you have from a loose connection starting a fire. >> reporter: what's the next tip? >> the next tip is we keep this three feet from anything combustible that will burn, the couch, the end table. best to do it in the center of the room. >> reporter: keep the heater in the center of the

feet is the magic number. people sometimes let blankets fall right on top of the heater. >> correct. this heater is hot enough to catch it on fire. next thing the room is on fire and the house is on the ground. >> reporter: just like that. to show us, jamie sets up a real life demonstration inside this real house, getting special permission to burn it. we have a team of firefighters standing by. >> all right. heater on, blanket on. we'll see what happens. >> reporter: remember, this happens in homes all the time. in just several minutes -- >> we have ignition. >> reporter: the blanket's on fire but a piece of the blanket fell off and is now burning the rug too. >> just like that, it's spread to the couch. >> reporter: it's already hard to breathe in here. >> now that it's got the polyurethane couch on fire, you

another two minutes. >> reporter: suddenly an inferno in the living room. you can't even breathe in here anymore. everyone out. that happened, jamie, so fast. >> people don't realize how fast the fire takes off and how nasty et g it gets. >> reporter: i was able to breathe. then i wasn't. it is raging. the fire immediately spreads, jumping from room to room. the fire is right here. let me show you how fast this spread. look over here on the other side of the house. been just a couple of minutes. we already have black smoke coming out here too. this could be your home. it's super dangerous. flames engulf the house, shattering these glass doors as it burns. if this doesn't show you to follow the instructions, i don't know what does. >> you're dead if you're in this room right now. >> reporter: all from a space heater. >> all from

someone improperly using it. >> jeff says some space heaters do come with an automatic shutoff switch which kicks in if it gets too hot or gets knocked over. follow that three-foot rule and don't plug them into extension cords. it's also important to check the batteries on your smoke detectors and congresswoman me fire escape plan your whole family can follow. bullets flying in a quiet suburban neighborhood and landing in people's homes. sunset in about an hour from now. another february day with no snow. what are our chances for snow in march?

we're about to lose a veteran on the d.c. theater scene who's been a part of the community for the better part of three decades. he's been the spehakespeare theater's director. he'll stay on until july of 2019 so his successor has time to plan a full season of plays. we now have a better idea this afternoon about how next year's budget will affect you if you live in fairfax county. this

executive unveiled his budget plan for next year. in it, the tax rate remains the same, but the average tax bill goes up about $40 because of rising assessments. the county proposes increasing funding for schools, but the proposal fal short of the amount the school board wants. county executive ed long says he's wishing the county could go more. >> i'm frustrated that we couldn't do more employee compensation. i'm frustrated we couldn't make a bigger dent in some of the public safety issues. the human service needs that are out there. >> the county also unveil add new online tool that provides assessments and property taxes. to get there, search budget calculator in the nbc washington app. the results are in and first at 4:00 the new report that shows just how much riders trust metro. why the subject of the agency had some local lawmakers fired

avoiding a scam, the four ways you can hold onto your wallet on this valentine's day.

first at 4:00, police have a man in custody who may be responsible for shooting into town homes in herndon. >> julie carey discovers there were a lot of shots and some of e

people's kitchens. >> reporter: that second floor condo there was one of the homes hit. you can see the window still taped over from where gunfire tore through it on january 22nd. it's one of at least three town homes to be hit by gunfire last month. residents tell police they've been hearing gunfire in that area for several months now. news4 has learned it appears there's a break in the case. herndon police recently arrested this man, 24-year-old terrance malloy on a different firearms charge. police believe malloy is the person responsible for the townhouse shootings. coming up, what a search of the home where malloy was staying turned up that could result in more charges. >> maryland lawmakers are picking up the pace to create a metro safety program. a vote could come as soon as tomorrow. during the debate last night senate president mike miller was

has been taking so long, he actually started swearing. earlier this week the federal government threatened to cut nearly $9 million from metro if d.c., maryland and virginia can't come together and create a safety commission. a new survey shows that metro has a long way to go to gain your trust. more than 1700 people responded to the survey. on a scale of one to ten riders gave metro an average rating of 5 1/2 for safety, just under 5 for reliability and the same score for customer service. about 4 out of 10 people say metro has gotten worse in the past year, while 25% say it got better. well, it sparkles and shines. a diamond can be a popular gift for valentine's day. but if you look really closely, the price and quality don't always add up. >> we're working for you this afternoon. jim handly is in the newsroom with more. >> love is in the air today from

it's that time of year that diamonds sell and sell fast. it can be a costly endeavor, though. how do you know you're getting the best deal? susan is going to join us with that. also they helped tell the story of a major part of american history. we're going to show you some of the incredible art from the civil rights movement. it's the story that stun add local community. an apartment building destroyed in seconds. six months later we'll tell you what local leaders say they've learned from the disaster. the weather has been so unbelievably warm this month of february. a lot of folks are talking about whether we're going to get hit in march. >> a lot of people have been asking me that. you know what? i went back and looked at the last ten februarys that we had an inch or less

took a look at what happened those following marches just to sort of give an idea. so the last 10 februarys with less than an inch of snow followed by only three marches that had more than an inch of snow. only about a 30% chance based on going all the way back to 1991. our march of 1993 blizzard was a march storm. it can still happen. there's a live view over looking reston now and the dulles tollway. we've had sunshine breaking out. this valentine's day has turned more lovable and appealing. temperatures up near 50 in the shenandoah valley. in the 40s elsewhere. reagan national now at 45 degrees. we're all dry here now. tomorrow in the morning, this area in green, this may be a little bit of rain

as far north as fredericksburg. that does track off to the east. there is some indication it may be a little closer to washington tomorrow morning, perhaps into the afternoon. stay tuned. might need an umbrella tomorrow but it may stay to our south. we'll be keeping you posted on that. a chance of a little bit of rain but no snow tomorrow. so a nice night to go out and celebrate valentine's.chilly, t. 40s by dawn tomorrow. a lot of clouds in the morning and again a small chance of maybe a little bit of rain for just our southern suburbs tomorrow morning. most roads in the metro area should be dry for the wednesday commute. then some sun breaks out in the afternoon with temperatures climbing into the upper 40s, near 50 degrees by mid afternoon. and then back down to ne

some of the gusts on thursday may be over 35 miles an hour. a cold day, highs only near 40. windchills in the 20s. then a warming trend friday in the 40s. look at that, the 60s over the weekend. that keeps on going into next week. no snow. pat, i know that upsets you terribly. >> my heart is broken. i'm so disappointed. no, i'm not. you know valentine's day is big business. we're talking $18 billion spent impressing the significant other in your life. >> i'm going to go out on a limb here and say the bulk of that is probably by men. whether you're trying to win them over with flowers or candy, susan is going to tell us how we don't break the bank. >> if you're watching this and you haven't gotten anything by now -- >> your options are

>> right. >> flowers at 7-eleven. >> if you are watching this and you haven't bought anything for valentine's day, you really need to keep your hand on your wallet. let's take a look at how to save on that last-minute flower purchase. it's too late to order any flowers. go to a local florist with good reviews. at this point many will actually be trying to get rid of their stock of roses if they've overordered. you could probably get a pretty good deal there. don't turn your nose up to the supermarket flowers. honestly their quality is getting better and better. avoid buying the premade bouquets as they tend to wilt faster. create your own from the freshest flowers found in those bins too. >> to 7-eleven somebody goes. >> we h

last-minute shoppers as well. if you're looking for love, watch out for those sweetheart scams. scammers prey on dating sites especially on valentine's day. beware of valentine targeted phishing scams as well. if you see a valentine's day e-greeting, make sure you know who it's from before you actually click on that link. often times scammers are disguised as cupid. a legitimate online greeting site will give you a confirmation code when you order one of those as well. >> i never would have thought about that. >> yes. and you real will have to be careful because you've heard of those phishing scams. if you click on thatlin link, sometimes you can be compromised. a scary situation that could unleash a wall of water onto hundreds of thousands of people.

and we're partnering with cigna to help save lives. we are the tv doctors of america. by getting you to a real doctor for an annual check-up. so go, know, and take control of your health. doctor poses. learn your key health numbers, and take control today.

>> reporter: people below this dam have long prayed for relief in drought parched california, but not like this. helicopters lift boulders and drop them in holes along the spillway. the dam itself is solid but it's only as strong as the spillways which are broken and eroding. >> it can fail and whether it's

got a lot of work to do. >> reporter: fiofficials say its a race against time. meanwhile cities below the dam are ghost towns as more than 188,000 residents have been evacuated under the threat of a potential wall of water crashing down on them. shelters have been set up to accommodate the displaced who are making the most of a bad situation. >> we left everything at home. it's just so painful. >> reporter: others are staying put. bill morrison can see the dam from his back yard. >> i can see it from here. if it breaks, i'm out of here. >> reporter: three environmental groups warned of potential danger back in 2005 that the emergency spillway should be lined with concrete and didn't meet modern safety standards. officials then concluded it was safe and would, quote, perform as designed. now with that spillway failing, there are

dams around the state with geologists looking at those. just 100 miles from here is california's largest reservoir. it's dangerously near capacity. there's more rain expected to start tonight and continue through next week. the shelters will remain open and they expect people to repopulate them after they go get a few things from home and get out of the area again, because this dam still has a lot of work to be done before it's safe for people downstream. the news continues right now with jim and wendy. news4 at 5:00 starts now. >> right now at 5:00, the new reaction from the white house amid the fallout from the resignation of national security advisor michael flynn. >> i know he's now resigned, but he'no

easy. we need some answers to a whole lot of questions. police are search right now for a link after a failed atm theft. the investigation to find out if it's connected to another crash and grab. and a troubling trend. leaders in montgomery county taking a closer look into a spike of hate crimes. but first at 5:00 this evening, missing and in danger. a widening investigation after a teenage girl disappeared. good evening. i'm jim handly. >> i'm wendy rieger. this is the third case of a missing teenage girl in our area in the past few weeks. >> please help us to find venus. if venus is listening, please come home. we are concerned for your safety. >> at a news conference police updated the girl's status to in danger. they say she knew the maryland teenager found dead over the weekend in fairfax ou